Bought a 2 door, 1995 XJ last week and it overheated 15mins down the road. Get it towed and after looking at it i found out the freeze plug was the problem.
Changed the plug and got it all back together today and the damn thing wont start... Battery sounded pretty weak from sitting on the freeway for 2 hours with the hazards on (i dont know the condition of the battery since i just bought it) so ive got it off and i am charging it now...
Anything else i should be aware of?
No i havent tested for spark but she fired up perfectly when i bought it.

seriously, any help would be appreciated.
this is my first jeep and im not that mechanically inclined .

 

Well you found a good forum to guide in some of those endeavors.

I would start with what you're doing there and see if she cranks back over and watch the temp.
That may or may not have been what caused the overheating in the first place.
If it is..great you've got it fixed. If not, you'll want to look at the t-stat and water pump too.

Welcome to the forum... lots of good knowledgeable people here that are always willing to help each other out.
Keep us posted.

 

so it looks like my battery is shot, thats what the tester is telling me. so im off to orileys to pick up a new one. will keep you informed.
happy to join a forum thats active, update in a few.

 

New batery in and it still wouldnt start as i expected. I havent pulled the plugs yet because i cant find my socket but i did check to make sure i had spark and that leads me to believe that it isnt a bad crank shaft sensor (atleast thats what google and youtube are telling me).
i do remember the o2 sensor below the exhaust manifold was extremely dirty but im not sure that would be the problem of not starting.

from what ive been reading about in simular problems is that they have had foul spark plugs, either from coolant or they pulled em out and they were black. Again, im not anything close to a mechanic, but i guess im hoping for a carbon foul on the plugs right now.

any other information from you guys would be extremely helpful.

 

Clarification - when you say it's not starting, what's happening is that the starter cranks, you get spark but the engine doesn't fire up, correct?

Assuming that's what's happening, the typical next step would be to test you're getting fuel and that the fuel pressure is good.

 

what would be the way to test it. It cranks over and gets spark like you stated. Fuel pump seems to be working, i can hear it run for about 2 seconds when i turn the key to on not start.

 

You can get a pressure gauge from your local parts store - possibly as a loaner tool. There are plenty of good write-ups on this.

I would definitely check the plugs. Even if it isn't your root cause, if they're funky looking it's a relatively easy thing that is a maintenance thing anyway and not terribly expensive.

How was the spark? Was it a strong blue color or not? You can still get spark but if it's weak you could still have a coil problem.

It's suspicious that the jeep started and ran fine until you replaced a freeze plug. Double check that you didn't pull out any vacuum hoses or grounding wires or something when you were doing the plug.

 

ill double check but i am pretty sure i put everything back the way i found it.
The spark was a yellowish color not blue, could that be some sort of problem?

 

It's been a long time since I've dealt with low/no spark, but I've always been told the spark should be strong and bluish and red/yellow or "weak" seeming was bad.
Perhaps someone smarter than I can jump in here....
If you're desperate for an answer I would PM cruiser54 - the guy is like a Jeep god.

Certainly if you have fouled plugs and a weak spark you're going to have problems combusting.

 

Also, make sure your connections are clean, battery cables are tight and all that.

 

Easy Cruisers head barely fit in his hat now...

 

Gotta ask is there fuel in it.Squirt of starting fluid in throttle body will help if it starts its definitely a fuel issue.

 

will do, i got a can of electrical cleaner from the autopart store along with 6 new plugs.
Heres one of my plugs.... Ive never seen a plug this bad out of a vehicle.

will update after all this is said and done.

 

The car has fuel in it, might go pick up a bottle of starter fluid and a pressure tester tonight to check that.

 

SO.... i changed out the plugs, they were basically all trash... still no start.
going to start cleaning the electrical connectors i had unpluged during removal of the intake/exhaust manifold.
Havent seen any fried wires from it overheating but will continue to look.

This heep is giving me a hard time.... lol